What Are They Saying About Mysticism? - Hardcover

by Harvey D. Sj Egan (Author)

Fr. Egan surveys the current scholarship on mysticism, giving special attention to the work of William James, Richard Bucke, Walter Stace, Erich Neumann, Carl Albrecht, R. C. Zaehner, Evelyn Underhill, Thomas Merton, William Johnston, Teilhard de Chardin, Hans Urs von Balthasar, Harvey Cox, Karl Rahner, Bernard Lonergan, and many lesser-known authors. The book covers a wide spectrum of modern thinking. It presents authors who treat mysticism as a psychological phenomenon involving pathology and states of consciousness, as well as others who understand it as stages of life toward union with the God of Love. Fr. Egan also highlights both those authors who have opened up Christian mysticism to the riches of the Eastern tradition and those critical of this turn to the East. Finally, he explores the theological reflections of Karl Rahner and Bernard Lonergan for their ability to bring together the mystical spirituality and academic theology. These contemporary theologians offer a solid foundation for a new science of mysticism based on Christian mystical tradition, empirical sciences, East-West dialogue, and modern theological pluralism.

Author Biography

HARVEY D. EGAN, S.J., D. Theol., is a leading expert on Christian mysticism and the thought of Karl Rahner. He is Professor Emeritus of Systematic and Mystical Theology at Boston College, where he taught for thirty-five years. Fr. Egan received his doctorate of theology under the direction of Karl Rahner from Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität in Münster, Germany, and he is the recipient of the Robert H. Goddard Distinguished Alumni Award from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, from which he graduated with a BS in electrical engineering. He has taught at Holy Cross College in Worcester, Loyola University Maryland, and earned the title of Bannon distinguished Professor of Religious Studies at Santa Clara University, California. He has written several books and translated many writings by Karl Rahner. His latest book is Paul: Christianity's Premier Apostolic Mystic. He is the author of numerous articles in scholarly journals and entries in anthologies and encyclopedias.